At 31, Jason Richardson adjusts his game in second season with Orlando Magic

View full sizeAssociated PressJason Richardson dunks during a game last month against the Milwaukee Bucks.

AUBURN HILLS — This is the new reality for Jason Richardson.

He's still a starter with the NBA's Orlando Magic, in his 11th NBA season on a team that sits in third place in the Eastern Conference.

But at 31, his role is supporter more often than focal point, playing fewer minutes on a team with no shortage of scorers.

"It was tough at first, it's still a little tough," Richardson said. "But I'm still adjusting to it and learning how to play through the system."

Tuesday night against the Pistons, Richardson, an Arthur Hill graduate, went for 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting in 22 minutes, as the Magic lost, 102-95.

Coming into Tuesday's game, Richardson had been held to single-digits scoring in four straight games and six of his last seven.

Compared to his previous stop in Phoenix — where he thrived in a run-and-gun style — Orlando's halfcourt system built around dominant big man Dwight Howard means a reduced role.

"We've got so many scorers, I haven't been scoring as much as I have been on previous teams from earlier in my career," Richardson said. "They still expect me to go out there and get comfortable on the offensive and defensive end."

He can still take over games, including a 31-point game Feb. 11 in Milwaukee that coach Stan Van Gundy dubbed "the Jason Richardson show.

But his scoring average (11.0) is the lowest of his career, and his minutes per game (28.8) are five fewer than last year, when he came to the Magic in a midseason trade.

No small part of that has been his health. He suffered a bone bruise in his knee early in the season that kept him out for three games, missed games in late January with a virus, and still isn't healthy, he said.

A lockout-shortened preseason and a compacted schedule doesn't make it easy to stay healthy, either.

"It's been a tough season, not just for myself but for everyone in the NBA," Richardson said. "With 66 games in about four or five months, it's been tough on everybody."

And being a 31-year-old means he can't play like he's 20 anymore — the two-time NBA slam dunk champion is taking plenty of 3-pointers and jumpers this year.

"I'm more of a shooter now, and I do all my jumping like I normally should and I could do still," Richardson said. "But it's a different team as far as just being more half-court, with the most dominant big man in the NBA with Dwight.

There's still plenty of good basketball ahead. But the end might not be too off, and it's a topic he brings it up unprompted.